Interlock for swinging power-driven wringers



1. F. LAMB. INTERLOCK FOR SWINGING POWER DRIVEN WRINGERS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 4, 1920.

Patented May 17, 1921.

J FL A745 W M70/mfr UNITED. STATES PATENT -OFFQE JOSEPH F. LASIK, F NEW BRITAIN', CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNCR T0 LANDEI'RS, FBARY & CLARK, 0F NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION 0F CCNNECTICUT.

INTEBLOCK FOB SWINGIN'G vPl.)TEB;-IDIBJV'IEIIT WRINGERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 17, 1921.

Application led October 4, 1920. Serial No. 414,612.

Y type in which the reversing mechanism swings with the wringer into any one of a plurality of positions with a locking lever carrying a detent, said lever interlocking with the handle of the reversing mechanism so that when the motor is driving the' wringer in either direction the detent cannot be withdrawn so as to permit the wringer to be swung, and when the detent lever is actuated so as to permit the wringer to be swung, the motor cannot be operatively connected to the wringer.

The following is a description of an embodiment of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows 'in side elevation a portion of the Wringer mounted upon a washingrmachi-ne;

ig. 2 is an end elevation of the same; Fig. 3 isa detail YView of the casing containing the reversing mechanism showing 85 the reversing handle in position for driving the wringer in one direction in full lines and in dotted lines in neutral position and in position for driving the wringer inthe opposite direction; and

Fig. 4 is a' detail of the detent lever.

. Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 is a wringer. secured vto an arm 2, which is integral with the body portion 8 of a swinging wringer support. The lower part of this body portion is formed so as to lit closely upon a sleeve 4 secured to and rejecting from a base plate or'standard 5. 'ilVithin the sleeve 4 is a bushing 6 'carried by the upper en d ofa power-driven shaft 7.

14 is the handle of thereversing mechanism connected tothe-shaft 15. This handle is provided with a spring-pressed pawl detent 17,- which engages a recess 18 in the casing containing the reversing gears, this recess 18 being directly above the shaft 15 so as to be engaged by the pawl detent when the handle 14 is in vertical position.. The shaft 15 carries an eccentric pin 19, which turns in a rectangularhlock 20, located hetween the shoulders of a clutch member 21 mounted upon a shaft 22 with a spline so as to rotate therewith. Loosely mounted on this shaft 22 are beveled gears 23 and 24 provided with clutch faces, with which the clutch faces of the clutch member 21 engage when the handle 14 is in either horizontal position but from whichVY they are both free when' the handle 14 is in the vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2.

As is well known to those who have operated 4power-driven swinging wringers, there is danger in unlocking the wringer when the power is on, particularly if any clothes are being wrung, since, if the power is on and the wringer is unlocked so as to be free to swing, the driving power will act to swing the wringer which may strike a person standing nearby a blow resulting in serious damage. Y

Ordinarily, the power is connected and disconnected from the wringer by the reversing mechanism which has a forward position, a rearward position and a neutral position. In the neutral position the power is disconnected from the wringer. This reversing mechanism is ordinarily located in the swinging support, which is connected with the wringer so as to be removable therewith, as a unit, from the washing machine.

--To prevent the danger above referred to, it is only necessary to make the detent interlock with the reversing mechanism handle, so that the detentcan be withdrawn only when the -reversing mechanism is in neutral position and the reversal mechanism can be thrown so as to connect the power with the wringer only vwhen the detent is in locking position. This can obviously be done in various ways, but I have devised a lever located in a particular place and operating in a particular wayV so as to not only be easy to operate but to have a simple interlocking relation. v

In order to provide an easily operated interlocking detent, I have pivoted to the portion 3 at 8, directly below the'shaft 15, a detent lever 9 having a thumb piece or handle 10 overlying the shaft 15and the springpressed plunger 11, which tends to move the 110 handle outward, although permitting it to be moved into the position shown in dotted lines. The lower end of the detent lever 9 is provided with the linger 12, which fits in any one of a plurality of recesses 13 in the base plate 5. Upon withdrawing the finger 9 from one recess by pressing the handle 10, the wringer is free to be swung to another position with the finger 12 opposite another recess 13, so that the entry of the finger into the other recess will lock the wringer in the new position.

In order to relieve the pivot 8 and the lower arm of the lever 9 of strain, I have provided the portion 3 with two l lugs 3', spaced apart so as to be in close engagement with the sidesY of the lever 9 adjacent to the linger 12. These projections constitute abutments which relieve the lever 9 from lateral strain and reduce the danger of breaking or other damage.

In order to prevent the withdrawal of the finger 12 when the reversing mechanism is not in neutral position, I provide the reversing handle with a flange 25 having a notch 26, which is directly below the shaft 15 when the handle 14 is in vertical position and provide the lever 9 with aprojection 26- which is adapted to enter the recess 26 V.when the handle 14 is in vertical position, but which blocks the lever 9 from movement when the handle 14 is moved out of vertical position so as to carry a portion of the ange 25 into alinement with the vertical plane assing through the shaft 15 and the projection 26.

Y By this means is provided a readily accessible detent lever which can be actuated only when the reversing mechanism is in neutral position, and which can be actuated hy a horizontal pressure.

It is to be noted that the lever 9, being pivoted to the portion 3, revolves therewith so that its handle 10 is always in a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 15, and lies over the end of said shaft bringing the manually operated portions of the lever 9 and handle 14 in close relation to one another.

As 'will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits of various modiications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a wringer, the combination of a powerdriven shaft, a base-plate having a plurality of recesses, a support mounted on said baseplate so as to rotate about the axis of said shaft, a wringer mechanism carried by said support, a reversing mechanism contained in said support and having an actuating shaft projecting horizontally therefrom, a handle mounted upon said actuating shaft, and provided with a notch, a lever mounted on said support in a vertical plane passing throughthe axis of said shaft, said lever having a linger on its lower end adapted to enter said recesses in theba'Se-plate carrying said support and as towhich base-plate said support is revoluble and being provided adjacent to its upper end with a projection adapted to enter said notch. v

JOSEPH F. LAMB. 

